Adjustment device



Patented Mar. 13, 1923.

' rrsn s 11i;

LEON OTTINGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y;

ADJUSTMENT DEVICE.

Application filed December 10, 1920. Serial 'lil'o. 429,672.

To all whom it may concern a Be it known that I, LEON OTTINGER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city of New York, county and State of New 5 York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements. in Adjustment Devices, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved ad.- justment device and more particularly to the provision of simple and effective means for quickly and accurately as well as securely setting an adjustable element or part in a desired position. r v

In one embodiment of the invention I protion with a lock strike whereby the strike member may 'be adjusted in all directions upon the door frame or jamb to compensate for shrinkage, warping or displacement of the jamb, said adjustment means being of such construction that the strike may be securely fixed in its adjusted position so that the lock or latch bolt will properly cooperate therewith.

In one construction of the device, I first enlarge the screw receiving openings or holes of the ordinary lock strike to receive freely rotatable bushings. Each of these bushings is provided with an eccentric opening to re- 'ceive the attaching screw, such opening being of appreciably greater diameterthan the screw shank. In addition, each bushing is provided with a relatively small opening therethrough spaced from the screw receiving opening and through this small opening a nail is adapted to be inserted and driven into the wooden door frame or jamb. The

eccentric bushings are thus securely held in their adjusted positions and with' each adjustment of the bushings, the securing nails are driven in a new place. By means of this construction the lock strike can be set at an angle with respect to the edges of the door frame or j amb and relative movement of the u strike and the adjustable bushings effectually prevented.

The improved eccentric adjustment means ma also be advantageously employed for the ad ustment of the door bumpers or stops and can likewise be used for various other analogous purposes where a simple and easily operable adjustment means is desired.

With the above and other objects in view,

vide eccentric adjustment means in combinae.

the invention consists in the improved form,

construction and relative arrangement of the several parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accom-" panying drawings and subsequently incorporated in the subjoined claims. In the drawings wherein I have illustrated several practical and desirable embodiments of the invention and inwhichesimilar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views Flgure 1 is an elevation showing a lock strike secured upon a door frame or jamb by means of the improved adjustment device.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the.

modification of the invention.

Figure 7 is a similarview of an alternative for the construction shown in Figure 7 Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8'8 of'F'igure' 7. v V

. Figure 9 is an elevation showing the adjustment device applied to the door stops or bumpers, and v Figure 10 is a detail elevation showing a slightly modified form of the eccentric bushing.

Referring in detail to the drawing 5 designates a lock strike which is of the usual form having an inclined or beveled face which the lock or latch bolt engages. The body of the lock strike is provided at opposite sides thereof with the lugs or cars 6. These lugs are usually formed withcountersink screw holes to receive suitable attaching screws whereby the strike may be fixed to the door post or jamb. For the purpose of applying my present invention, these screw holes are reamed out and enlarged to provide the openings 7 for the reception of the adjustable bushings 8. Each of these bushings has a body portion of a length equivalent to the thickness of the lug or ear 6 and is of such diameter as to be freely rotatable within the opening 7. Upon one end of the bushing the flange 9 is formed, said flange extending upon the surface of lug or ear 6 in substantially concentric relation to the opening 7. I i 2 Each of the bushings 8 is provided with a screw receiving opening 10 having a countersink 11 at one end to receive the head of a screw 12 which is of appreciably less diameter than the diameter of the opening 11 so that the bushing may be moved or shifted in all directions with respect to said screw.

In addition to the screw receiving opening 10 each bushing is provided with a nail receiving opening 13 which is spaced from the screw receiving opening and located upon the relatively opposite side of the axial center of the bushing. This nail receiving opening is of very small diameter to receive a fine wire nail 14. y

In assembling the parts-of the device, the strike is properly located on the door frame or jamb and the bushings positioned within the openings 7. The screws 12 are then inserted through the openings 10 in the bushings and threaded into the wood door frame. By turning the eccentric bushings in the openings 7, it will be apparent that the lock strike can be shifted both vertically and laterally in all directions and may be angularly positioned with respect to the vertical line of the door jamb as seen in Figure 1. The screws are tightened sufliciently to hold the strike for trial so that it may be determined that the latch bolt will properly engage therewith before final securing of bushings by means of the nails. After the desired adjustment of the strike has been made, the wire nails 14 are inserted into the openings 13of the bushings and driven into the door frame. The bushings will thus be securely held against a further turning movement. and by tightening the screws 12 the strike is securely fixed in its adjusted position.

In case the wood door j amb should either swell or shrink, the strike may be very easily and quickly adjusted by simplyv loosening the screws 12 and then engaging the edge of the screw driver beneath the flan es 9 on the bushings and forcing the bus ings outwardly. The wire nail 14 can then be readily extracted. The bushings are now rotated and the strike shifted on the door jamb to the proper position for the engagement of the latch bolt therewith. When the nails 14 are again inserted in the openings 13 of the bushings, they are driven into the wood of the' door frame at a new place thereby insuring their proper holding ac-- tion. The screws 12 then again tightened to secure the strike in its new position. In

and still preserve the neat appearance of the door frame, I utilize. the arrangement shown in Figures 5 and 6. In this case, I provide a metal frame of angular cross sectional form having a flange'15 engaged with the walls of the mortise indicated at 16 and the flange 17 which is countersunk in the base wall of the mortise. This latter flange is provided with spaced openings to receive the securin screws 18. The strike. plate 19 is arranged within this frame and overlaps upon the inner edges of theflanges 17, said strike plate however being spaced from the flanges 16. The adjustment bushings 8 are arranged in openings in the strike plate 19 and are adjusted to shift said strike plate to the desired position in the manner above described.

The metal frame and the strike plate are of such dimensions that the inner edges of the flanges 17 are at all times covered or concealed by the strike plate in any adjusted position thereof. Therefore the wood surfaces of the mortise are completely covered.

by the metal frame and the! strike plate so that the appearance of the door frame or jamb is preserved and the rough or raw edges of the mortise are not exposed.

In Figures '7 and 8 I have shown a strike 20 of a slightly different form having the two bevel surfaces 21 and 22 and the shoulder 23 behind which the latch or look bolt is projected after it rides over the beveled surface 21. The strike 20 is provided with the spaced openings 24 to receive the adjustable bushings, said openings having countersinks 25 which receive the bushing flanges so that said flanges are disposed wholly within the planes of 'thebeveled surfaces.

21 and 22 and are not engaged by the latch or lock bolt. I have shown this strike member assembled in conjunction with a metal frame 26 similar to'tha-t above described and arranged in a mortise in the door jamb or frame. The strike may be readily adjusted to any desired angular position within the frame 26 by the proper manipulation of the eccentric bushings.

In Figure 7 I have illustrated an alternative for the arrangement shown in Figure 7 wherein only one of the adjustable bushings is provided, and the section of the lock strike having the beveled surface 22 is formed with the longitudinal slot 29 to receive the fixed guide screw 30 wihichis threaded into the door jamb. The lock strike has free sliding as Well as pivotal movement with respect to this guide screw when the single bushing is adjusted.

In Figure 9 I have shown the eccentric adjustment device applied to the stops or bumpers 27. In automobile construction the door frame is provided with such stops or bumpers usually formed of hard rubber agamst WlllCll the free edge of the door engages as it is brought to its closed position, said bumpers being placed under compression and thereby effecting a tight engagement of the latch or lock bolt with the strike so as to prevent rattling and the metallic. sound or noise incident thereto. In this arrangement, each of the bumpers 27 is equipped with a pair of the adjustable eccentric bushings so that as the bumpers wear down, they may be adj usted and projected from the edge of the door frame for the desired distance.

\Vhile the present invention is primarily adapted and designed, for use in connection with lock strikes or doorbumpers of the type generally employed upon-a-uton'iobiles, it is also manifest that the improved adjustment device may likewise be applied to various other analogous uses. In fact, in all cases where the quick and accurate adjustment of an element or part is necessary or desirable, the present invention may be advantageously employed.

In Figure 10 of the drawings I have shown a slightly modified form of the eccentric bushings whereby I am enabled to dispense with the use of the nail 14 above referred to. To this end I provide the bushing at its lower end with a sharpened circumferential edge 28 for biting or gripping engagement with the wood of the door amb. However, I prefer to use the nail 14 as it permits of a greater range of adjustment of the bushing and a more effective andseoure holding action. I

From the foregoing description consideredwith the accompanying drawings, the construction and manner of operation of the several described embodiments of the invention will be readily understood. The adjustment device consists of relatively few parts of very simple construction and does not necessitate any changes in the ordinary strike or other parts to be adjusted except the enlargement of the ordinary'screw receiving openings with which such parts are provided. This adjustment means enables the strike to be initially positioned and correctly adjusted upon the door jambbefore it is finally fixed thereto. I have also found in practice that the present invention is very desirable when applied to the strikes of antomobile door latches which require more or less frequent adjustment due to the shrinking or swelling of .the wood in order to tightly secur the v trike in place and prevent rata relatively adjustable part having tling thereof. By means of the present im- I provement, such adjustment can be very quickly efiectedwithout unduly marring the door frame and with absolute security so that the latch bolt will properly cooperate therewith. I have described and illustrated what I believe to be very satisfactory and desirable embodiments of the invention. but it is nevertheless to be understood that the device is suscej'itible of many modifications in the form and proportion of its several detail parts and I accordingly reserve the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed I claim:

1. In combination with a fixed partand a relatively adjustable part, of means whereby. said last-named part may be adjusted. said means including a bushing eccentrically mounted on the fixed part and engaging the part to be adjusted and having a portion extending exteriorly of said part for turning the bushing. and means separate and distinct from the turning axis of the bushing for securing said eccentric to the fixed part in adjusted position. 2. The combination of two associated parts, one of said parts being movable relatively to the other and having an opening therein, an eccentric fitted in said opening and having means whereby to secure it to the relatively fixed part and to permit of its turning about such securing means, said eccentric having a portion extending beyond the ad ustable part for engagement to rotate the eccentric, and means whereby said eccentric may be secured to the relatively stationary part.

3. In combination with a door framestructure, and a lock strike adjustably secured thereon and having openings therein; eccentric bushings fitted in the openings and secured to the door frame structure, said bushings having portions overlying the adjustable lock strike, and means for binding the bushings against a tool to the door frame structure. l

4. In combination with a fixed part and an opening therein, an eccentric bushing fitted in the. opening, means whereby said eccentric bushing may be secured to the fixed part while capable of turning in the opening in said relatively adjustable part, said eccentric having a flange extending outwardly of the opening in which the eccentric engages. and means separate and distinct from the turning axis of the eccentric for holding such eccentric fixed against movement.

5. In combination with a fixed part, and

a relatively adjustable part. means carried by and turning eccentrically about said fixed able part to adjust the same in'all directions, and means separate and distinct from the turning axis of said eccentrically mounted means, whereby the latter may be bound against turning movement with the fixed art. p 6. In combination with a fixed part, and a relatively adjustable part havinga substantially cylindrical opening therein, a cylindrical bushing fitted in the opening and having an eccentric perforation therein, an axis pin extending through such perforation and engaging the fixed part, said bushing having an opening separate from said perforation to receive means for engaging the fixed part to hold the eccentric against turni. In combination with a fixed part, and a relatively adjustable part having a substantially cylindrical opening therein, a substantially cylindrical bushing fitted in said opening and having perforation therethrough made eccentrically with a counter- 8. In combination with a fixed part, and j a relatively adjustable part having a substantially cylindrical opening therein, a bushing eccentrically mounted in said opening and having a flange overlying the relatively adjustable part, an axis pin on Which the eccentric is mounted to turn, and a second pin remote from the axis pin for passing through the eccentric and into the fixed part.

In testimony that he claims the foregoing as his invention, he, has signed his name hereunder.

- LEON OT'IINGER. 

